Evangelism or the Spirit-led Life?

Well, Would You?, a photo by Brian Sawyer on Flickr.

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

-Jesus, the Christ

In John 16:5-11 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit--our Helper--comes to convict concerning three things:

1. Sin
2. Righteousness
3. Judgement

Notice that the Spirit is convicting the world (cosmos = the whole world, righteous and unjust). Oftentimes we feel that it's our job to convict people of their sins, show them "the error of their ways", etc., but Jesus said that it was the Spirit's job to convict. Thank God that that responsibility isn't all on us! 


So I think I know your next question: is it Him and/or us? What if we see someone in sin and feel that we need to speak to them? We should immediately ask if it is the Spirit moving in us, or just ourselves. Sometimes it's not our job to reveal sin. 

What exactly is the Spirit's job description, and how can we partner with Him?

Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me. John (1 John 5:16) talks of "a sin that leads to death." So what is the great sin?  The Bible tells us that there is no one in Hell because of adultery, theft, debauchery, etc. Of course there will be adulterers, thieves, and debauchees, but only because they didn't believe on Christ. That is the only unforgivable sin. There is no forgiveness without Jesus. 

So if you see sin don't freak out! Instead, be concerned about peoples' unbelief.  

Ignore sins, don't worry about them. If they accept Christ, the rest will take care of itself.  

Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me. What is the consequence of Jesus going to the Father? Before Jesus came the door to God was shut tight against us, but now it is open and we are capable of doing right. We can follow in His footsteps. Blessed assurance!

The Holy Spirit, left here in Jesus's absence, will convict us concerning what is right.

Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Who exactly is under judgement here? The ruler of this world. Satan has, in a certain sense, been given free rein on this earth, and he's made the most of it. But now he has been tried and found guilty by the Lord Jesus, and sinners can break out of their chains and come to Christ. In a sense, the Spirit is inviting them to get into "the witness protection program for former sinners". Leave the ruler. Step away. Escape his judgement. "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:18)."

The Spirit has come to connect sinners with Jesus, drawing them away from Satan and the judgement on him.

So instead of making "evangelism" our goal, how about we choose to partner with Holy Spirit in convicting others of these three things? This could change our entire posture, and present a much more palatable front to the world: something real and solid.